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Green Caddis Larva
A nymph, tied #12–16, carried year round. It is tied against 4 named insects in this book, and stands in when nothing is hatching — April–October.
A bright green free-living caddis larva, tied on a curved 2X heavy scud or nymph hook in sizes 12–16 with olive 8/0 thread. The body is caddis-green dubbing or Ultra Chenille over the curved shank, ribbed with fine gold wire or clear mono for segmentation, with a black or dark brown dubbed thorax and head, and weighted with lead wire or a black tungsten bead. It is fished dead drift on the bottom, twelve months a year, because free-living and net-spinning larvae are in the current continuously rather than only during a hatch — on rivers that hold them this is the most-eaten single item in the drift. It is tied against Grannom in April and May at 48 to 58 degrees, Green Sedge from May through August at 48 to 64, and inchworms in May and June at 50 to 68. It is also carried for caddis generally and as a searching pattern with no hatch on. Trout are the target.
- #12–16Hook size
- nymphType
- AllSeason
- 4Hatches matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Grannom Brachycentrus spp. · April–May · 48–58°F · #14–16
- Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie Rhyacophila spp. · April–June and September–October · 45–68°F · #10–14
- Green Sedge Rhyacophila spp. · May–August · 48–64°F · #12–16
- Inchworm Geometridae · May–June · 50–68°F · #12–16
It is also tagged for caddis generally, no hatch at all — a searching pattern.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | 2X heavy scud/nymph hook, sizes 12–16 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Olive 8/0 |
| Body | Bright caddis-green dubbing or Ultra Chenille, over a curved shank |
| Rib | Fine gold wire or clear mono |
| Thorax / head | Black or dark brown dubbing |
| Weight | Lead wire or a black tungsten bead |
When to fish it
Dead drift on the bottom, all year. On rivers with net-spinning or free-living caddis this is the most-eaten single item in the drift.
Carried all year. The insects it matches are active april–october, in water from 45°F to 68°F.
Target species
- Trout
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Green Weenie nymph · #12–16 — Chartreuse chenille. Appalachian brook-trout water does not have a better fly in June.
- Green Rock Worm nymph · #10–14 — Bright green segmented body, black head, curved hook. Heavier than a Green Weenie and meant to be on the bottom.
- Hare's Ear Nymph nymph · #10–18 — Looks like everything and nothing. The other half of a two-nymph rig.
- Perdigon nymph · #14–20 — Slim, epoxied, sinks like a stone. The euro-nymphing point fly.
- Prince Nymph nymph · #10–18 — An attractor nymph with biot wings. Nobody agrees what it imitates and it does not matter.